Ryan: A feel-good story for Wendell Scott but not for NASCAR

Wendell Scott, shown May 24, 1972, remains the only African American to have won a race in NASCAR's premier series.(Photo: AP)

CHARLOTTE — If perseverance is the primary criteria for election to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Wendell Scott is the most deserving candidate in stock-car history.

As the sport's first black winner, he deserves immense praise for overcoming death threats, pervasive discrimination and meager funding to race on the highest level of stock-car racing from 1961-73.

But his induction also should prompt some soul-searching by NASCAR, which is woefully behind the other major sports when it comes to equality. NASCAR's history is littered with instances of exclusion due to race and a hostile atmosphere. It was only 15 years ago that two crewmembers were fired for intimidating a black crewmember by wearing white hoods as a "joke."

And no less than NASCAR CEO Brian France has said the continued presence of rebel flags – which still fly today in the infield -- upsets him.

Asked if honoring his father's legacy would include telling how he also overcame much ugliness, Frank Scott said he was just happy for the induction.

"Things could have and should have been done differently," he said. "I'm not going to tell it today."

Over the next eight months until Wendell Scott's induction, let's hope those stories are told often, though.

After his lone victory Dec. 1, 1963 in Jacksonville, Fla., (which initially wasn't credited to Scott because track promoters didn't want a black driver with a white trophy girl), it took nearly a half-century before another African-American driver won in a national series (Darrell Wallace Jr. at Martinsville Speedway last October).

That's not an indictment of Scott's legacy. It's a shameful blemish on a sport whose Southern roots reflect this country's endless struggle for civil rights and equality.

NASCAR has gotten aggressive recently at making attempts to correct that. A Drive for Diversity program started 11 years ago has produced Wallace, and there are more promising minority prospects in the pipeline than ever.

But there isn't a full-time black driver in NASCAR's Sprint Cup or Nationwide series (the last was Bill Lester, who made a handful of attempts). None of the voters who debated the 2015 Hall of Fame class is black.

It could be viewed as a "make good" to correct so many wrongs by rightfully recognizing a Danville, Va., native who never gave up in the face of incessant adversity that would have broken lesser men.

Scott received 58% of Wednesday's vote. He wasn't on USA TODAY Sports' ballot – not because his redoubtable will doesn't merit being honored.

(Photo: Chuck Burton, AP)

But Scott was on his own. He did not have the benefit of a team owner like Branch Rickey to support him, give him an equal chance with decent equipment.​

As a result, his stats don't measure up. That fateful night in Jacksonville was the only time he led a race or finished on the lead lap. Though he posted 147 top-10 finishes despite a shoestring budget, his numbers pale in comparison to fellow inductees Bill Elliott, Joe Weatherly, Rex White and Fred Lorenzen, as well as many others on the list of 20 candidates.

All of this matters little to Scott's family, which stood and cheered in the NASCAR Great Hall when his name was announced Wednesday. Nearly an hour later, about 15 of Scott's sons, daughters, grandchildren and other relatives lingered on stage, proudly taking selfies with a photo of their namesake.

Frank Scott, who comprised his dad's pit crew with his brother Wendell Jr., eloquently spoke about having to barnstorm around the country while being denied hot meals at restaurants and lodging at motels.

"When Dad was told 'You come here, you leave in a pine box,' he said, 'I'm going to race. If they kill me, they do,' " he said. "A lot of people would have said, 'I ain't going to give my life.' That wasn't who he was and who we are as a family."

The battle was worth it. Wendell Scott finished in the top 20 in nearly 80% of races, and that brought in enough money to feed his family and put all of his kids through college.

Frank Scott said his father's election also was a testament to his talent and ingenuity ("a mechanical engineer without a formal education") that helped overcome the handicaps of racing with hand-me-down parts from other teams.

"The legends we ran against for 500 races, they know my father's determination," Frank Scott said. "He wasn't put in the Hall of Fame because he was an African-American. He was put in the Hall of Fame for his legacy. He earned it."

The lesson from Scott's career isn't how far NASCAR has come in becoming a multicultural institution reflective of an increasingly diverse society.